April News & Updates
The chimney swifts are returning to our region in mid-April after a long winter's tour of warmer climates! Get yourself to one of our 9 Allegheny County Parks and set your gaze on a chimney swift habitat tower - we've got 100 of them! Their nightly acrobatic dance circling the tower is a sight to behold!  
Twilight Picnic For The Parks
Saturday, August 26
Hartwood Acres
Join us under a canopy of stars in a picturesque park for an evening of fine foods, drinks and entertainment as we celebrate and support all of our parks with the Allegheny County Parks Foundation. 
Watch our Facebook page and this space for our BIG performer announcement!!! 
ALLEGHENY 9 RACE SERIES
3 DOWN/6 TO GO!!!
Meet two of our runners who are committing to finishing all Allegheny 9 races! White Oak, Settlers Cabin and North Park are in the books. Now they're gearing up for the challenging Boyce Park 10K Road and Trail Race on April 22 - and looking forward to the FREE BEER BREAKFAST afterward, courtesy of our generous sponsor,
There's still time to sign up - click    HERE!! 
Or just come and cheer them on! 
Read about our featured runners below. 
Kam Ramaswamy of Homestead
I ran 30 minutes on a treadmill for years and years but in 2012 at age 44 I decided to I wanted to run 10 miles. By coincidence or providence, 2013 was the inaugural year for the Pittsburgh 10 Miler. I signed up, which gave me incentive to get to 10 mile s. Although I never thought it would happen to a nice person like me, I became hooked on races! Running is not easy for me - it doesn't come naturally and I am not fast. But through running I learned perseverance and sometimes relentlessness; that through pain comes strength; and that bananas at the end of a race are oddly rewarding. And at North Park I learned I could run in really cold temps! I love The Allegheny 9 because it makes me go to parks I might not have been otherwise. I never did a trail run before, so Settlers Cabin was a whole new deal! I look forward to each Allegheny 9 run!
David Findlay of Freeport
(originally from Scotland!)

I'm pretty awful at most sports but I can just about manage to put one foot in front of the other without tripping, so running seemed like a good way to be more healthy. I find it helps me mentally too. The Allegheny 9 seemed like a nice way to see parks I probably wouldn't make it to otherwise; I've driven past Settlers Cabin Park on my way to the airport, but I doubt I'd ever have actually checked it out without the Allegheny 9. I ended up taking the kids there a couple of weeks age as a result of experiencing it in the race series.  I try to run 3-4 miles a couple of mornings before work and then a longer run on the weekend. I ran a few half-marathons but my knees don't like that level of training so now I stick to 5Ks and 10Ks. Now I'm less focused on my PRs and more focused on being able to just keep running regularly as it really helps me both physically and mentally. 


Funding Update

Several important projects can move forward thanks to the generosity of our funders. The Benedum Foundation recently granted us $100,000 to conduct ecological assessments in Settlers Cabin Park and Hartwood Acres Park. We are also grateful to the Garden Club of Allegheny County for contributing $5,000 toward the Hartwood Acres assessment. The Allegheny County Parks Foundation, in partnership with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, have already completed assessments of two parks, Boyce Park and South Park. These detailed studies are used to document the current state of the parks, establish the transformation of the parks since their founding and recommend restorative measures such as planting trees, replacing mowed areas with meadows and identifying invasive plants for removal. These improvements are now underway in Boyce and are being planned in South.

ACPF has also received $12,500 from PNC Charitable Trusts for interpretive signage, which will be used on some of our Chimney Swift habitat towers. These signs will enable us to point out significant natural and cultural park features and educate park visitors about how they can replicate some of our ecological restoration activities, such as the meadows, on their own. 

What does an ecological assessment look like? See one here: 

Meet Mr. McSlithers
The official reptile of the Allegheny County Rangers 


The fearless Elise Cupps, education and outreach coordinator of the Allegheny County Rangers, gives Mr. McSlithers his morning "walk." He is an Eastern Black Rat snake that was rescued from a Monroeville business in February. He was about 4 months old and 26 inches long. He dines on weekly mice and gets a daily misting of tap water to keep the humidity level up in his aquarium. Full grown he will reach up to 6 feet long and 2 inches in diameter. 
He will make his public debut at the Boyce Park Ski Lodge during a field trip with local middle school students. Look for him to accompany the Rangers on future events! 
We   LOV Volunteers! 

Do you LOVE your Allegheny County Parks enough to prove it??? 
We are looking for a few dear souls willing to help at the 2017 PITTSBURGH MARATHON registration on Saturday, May 6 from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the David Lawrence Convention Center Downtown. Easy duties include handing out shirts, directing people, staffing booths, etc... 
Interested? Let us know. 

Can't volunteer but would love to support our runners as they run to support the Allegheny County Parks Foundation?? Read about them and donate HERE.
 
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.  
Henry David Thoreau
Spring is bursting out everywhere! It's a perfect time to join one of Allegheny County Park's excellent naturalists on a nature walk. Depending on your interest, they detail the park's histories, plant material, reveal small animal and insect discoveries and even host a cooking lesson! There are Nature Centers in Boyce, Harrison Hills, North and South Parks. Here's a listing of upcoming classes through June: 
eggs_on_grass.jpg
The Return of the Adult Easter Egg Hunt! 

Back by popular demand.....

The Adult Easter Egg Hunt at North Park, brought to you by Joslyne Cook, one of our intrepid Pittsburgh Marathon charity runners! Joslyne is running to raise funds for the Allegheny County Parks Foundation and this unique fundraiser helps her meet her goals! 
Because of its popularity last year, it's been moved to the Ice Skating Rink. 

Join the fun! 
Where: North Park Ice Skating Rink
When: Friday, April 21 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Hundreds of eggs will be filled with raffle tickets; the more you collect, the better your chances of winning some great "Easter basket" prizes! A 50/50 raffle too! 

BYOB (Bring Your Own Basket) to the event (use your imagination!)

Schedule of Events:
6:00pm - Registration/Sign-In
6:30pm - Easter Egg Hunt Begins
7:00pm - Heavy Appetizers and a drink ticket for 21+ will be provided
8:00pm - "Easter Basket" prizes and 50/50 will be drawn
Click here for tickets:  Easter Egg Hunt
Board of Directors
James Mitnick, 
Chair
Richard (Rick) Rose, 
Treasurer
Tom Armstrong
G. Reynolds Clark
Pat Getty
Laura Karet
John Mascaro, Jr.
Todd Owens
John Surma  
Ellen Still Brooks, 
Vice-Chair
Sally McCrady,  Secretary
Chester R. Babst, III
Carol R. Brown
Karen Wolk Feinstein
Jonathan Kersting
Nancy Knauss
Daniel A. Onorato
Margaret M. Petruska

     
Ex Officio:
Rich Fitzgerald, John DeFazio, William McKain, Andy Baechle, Stephen Shanley
Caren Glotfelty, Executive Director

Allegheny County Parks Foundation | 724-327-7627 | info@acparksfoundation.org | www.acparksfoundation.org
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